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Free Mess Dress for Newly Promoted Sgt's

J

JimBeau

Guest
Mess Dress Grant

Mess Dress Grant

Just had the pleasure(or misfortune!) of getting promotoed to Sgt, then found out how much mess dress was gonna cost if i went down the brand new route, only now to be told that MOD has finally wised up and sanctioned a grant of £250 from the 1st of April. Winner !!
 
J

JimBeau

Guest
promotion date of 20th April ..... me thinks i a winner

Threads merged - MC.
 

The Stig A.D.I.

Corporal
400
0
16
Just had the pleasure(or misfortune!) of getting promotoed to Sgt, then found out how much mess dress was gonna cost if i went down the brand new route, only now to be told that MOD has finally wised up and sanctioned a grant of £250 from the 1st of April. Winner !!

'Misfortune'???

I wonder if those people who just missed being promoted on the same board as you would regard your success as 'misfortune'?

You don't actually have to accept it, JB; I'm sure there are lots of very deserving Cpls in your trade who would gladly take it off your hands...
 
J

JimBeau

Guest
i said misfortune with a hint of sarcasm, which obviously doesn't transmit well in txt form. I'm thrilled to have finally got my 3rd.

Fomz .... apparently it is a grant, and my good WO has also said that if you don't spend the full 250 ... the rest is yours! ... i'm sure he's taking the **** on that one though. I was looking at mess costs on the web also in Jan when i found out about the promotion, and those costs you quote were the same then so i'm not sure if the prices were hiked or when if they were.
 

The Stig A.D.I.

Corporal
400
0
16
i said misfortune with a hint of sarcasm, which obviously doesn't transmit well in txt form. I'm thrilled to have finally got my 3rd.

Fomz .... apparently it is a grant, and my good WO has also said that if you don't spend the full 250 ... the rest is yours! ... i'm sure he's taking the **** on that one though. I was looking at mess costs on the web also in Jan when i found out about the promotion, and those costs you quote were the same then so i'm not sure if the prices were hiked or when if they were.

Well in that case, congratulations! :pDT_Xtremez_28:
 

FOMz

Warrant Officer
3,317
1
0
i said misfortune with a hint of sarcasm, which obviously doesn't transmit well in txt form. I'm thrilled to have finally got my 3rd.

Fomz .... apparently it is a grant, and my good WO has also said that if you don't spend the full 250 ... the rest is yours! ... i'm sure he's taking the **** on that one though. I was looking at mess costs on the web also in Jan when i found out about the promotion, and those costs you quote were the same then so i'm not sure if the prices were hiked or when if they were.


I got round to buying one 18 months ago, and paid £185 new........
 
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0
0
I've recently been promoted to Sgt (24 Nov 08) however my IMLC dates are later this year (during Jul and Aug). It is in August that, I hope following successful completion of IMLC, I'll be substansive in rank.

The latest joining instructions from Halton recently stated that I'm to arrive with either a mess dress or No1 uniform with white shirt and black tie. I've recently purchased a brand new mess dress from Snaithes at Cranwell as I know from experience that attending formal mess functions in No1 uniform is not the most comfortable.

Can anyone confirm if I qualify for this grant seeing I was picked up last Nov or have I lucked out? It seems to me that the second and forth key points seem to contradict each other.
 

Who?

SNCO Odds and Sods
237
0
0
I've recently been promoted to Sgt (24 Nov 08) however my IMLC dates are later this year (during Jul and Aug). It is in August that, I hope following successful completion of IMLC, I'll be substansive in rank.

The latest joining instructions from Halton recently stated that I'm to arrive with either a mess dress or No1 uniform with white shirt and black tie. I've recently purchased a brand new mess dress from Snaithes at Cranwell as I know from experience that attending formal mess functions in No1 uniform is not the most comfortable.

Can anyone confirm if I qualify for this grant seeing I was picked up last Nov or have I lucked out? It seems to me that the second and forth key points seem to contradict each other.

Nice one, congrats on getting your third, I missed as they didn't fulfill the qouta.... From reading it, to me it would appear you missed out as you've been promoted and it's only IMLC that stops you holding substansive rank although to be fair it's not all that clear!

One of the shiney's will no doubt be able to give you a proper answer though as it does contradict itself!
 

JPABitch

LAC
53
0
0
:SSixty Congrats on your third. Unfortunately you won't qualify for the grant, you were promoted before the grant goes live and it only applies to those who are promoted to acting or substantive rank on or after the 1 Apr 09; when you successfully complete your IMLC and trade management courses your substantive promotion date will be backdated to the date of your acting rank.
 
Nice to see that there are some 'perks' for picking up your third. I bought one off Ebay in 04 from an ex WO. Told him why I wanted it and he said £75 and i'll chuck in the previous ranks. When he took it off ebay, it was going for £125!
Nice bloke.
 
R

Rustysdad

Guest
SNCO Mess dress Grant

SNCO Mess dress Grant

Well, here we go again, another pie in the sky incentive to retain personnel and make them feel valued. Those lucky enough to reach SNCO status by Apr 1st will be given a £250 grant to assist with the cost of Mess dress purchase. In the future ('in a galaxy far far away' no doubt) Mess Dress will be issued on promotion. Those promoted before Apr 1st or wishing to replace their existing Mess dress will not be eligible.
Call me sour (I am not eligible, I paid a fortune for mine 5 years ago) but would this money not be better spent on defence procurement for the boys on the front line? :pDT_Xtremez_25: Once again our leaders seem to misunderstand the needs of the good old british tommy!
 

Stax

Flight Sergeant
1,726
0
0
Trouble is, what happens to all the old mess kits, the ones you can pick up for £100.00 from sales and wants? I bought my first mess kit from a mate for £100.00, then 10 years later, having become a little more rotund in shape, sold it for....... yes £100.00! I bought a new one for £300.00, so the money I got for the old one was handy.
 
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I rang Snaithes at Cranwell this week, they do an all inclusive deal for £285

Turner & Virr also at Cranwell are doing the deal for £250 (no stock at moment)

the "deal" includes, jacket, trousers, shirt, bow tie & cumerbund.

medals on top of this, usually around £10 each plus £5 each for mounting.


failing this i have a second hand one for sale £100
 

fosyfos

LAC
2
0
0
Oh bugger! Anyway, thanks Who and JPABitch for making it clear.

Just to clarfy, I was picked up last October 08 and am actually on my IMLC now. I will be substansive on Friday 4th April which means I will qualify for the £250 grant towards A number 5 mess dress.
On day 1 of IMLC they say if 10 or more people from the cse want one they will gaurentee it for the dining in night at the end of the cse and it will cost £250. You then have to claim it back when you return to unit. If less than 10 people take it up then the price goes up to £275.

Hope this clarifies everything
 
458
0
0
Just to clarfy, I was picked up last October 08 and am actually on my IMLC now. I will be substansive on Friday 4th April which means I will qualify for the £250 grant towards A number 5 mess dress.
On day 1 of IMLC they say if 10 or more people from the cse want one they will gaurentee it for the dining in night at the end of the cse and it will cost £250. You then have to claim it back when you return to unit. If less than 10 people take it up then the price goes up to £275.

Hope this clarifies everything

Surely though, from the advice I got from JPABitch, it seems that you can't claim the £250 grant towards your mess dress as your promotion will be backdated to October as mine will be backdated in November when I become substansive in August this year.

My thinking now is sod it, I'll try and claim anyway - I've still got the receipt from Snaithes. If I fail I'm not going to miss the money much as I intended to get a mess dress as soon as I got promoted (proud to serve etc).

Fosyfos, congratulations on your promotion and I hope the course is going well. I'd be interested to find out how successful you are with your claim. PM me if you wish on a later date mate.
 
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